UN Migration Agency Appeals for USD 1.4 Billion to Help over 80 Million People in 50 Countries

GENEVA, Jan 19 2018 (IOM) - IOM, the UN Migration Agency, is appealing for nearly USD 1.4 billion to address the needs of over 80 million people in 50 countries in 2018. These vital funds will support people displaced within the borders of their own countries, migrants, refugees and the communities that host them, people returning to their areas of origin and people experiencing or recovering from conflict and natural disasters.

“The world is experiencing more complex emergencies than ever before, with millions of men, women and children struggling to survive,” said Mohammed Abdiker, IOM Director of Operations and Emergencies, from the Organization’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. “In terms of internal displacement alone, due to conflict and natural disasters, over 31 million people were newly displaced in 2016 adding to the millions already living in long-term protracted displacement.”

“IOM’s humanitarian programming aims not only to save lives but to help affected communities stabilize, build resilience and find solutions. The long-term impact of our responses is of paramount importance. Whether displaced by drought in Somalia, returning home to a recently liberated neighbourhood in Mosul or a member of the local community in Cox’s Bazar, where over 800,000 Rohingya refugees have settled, millions of people are in need not only of emergency assistance and protection but of innovative support that helps them get back on their feet, more resilient than they were before. This is IOM’s goal for 2018,” said Abdiker.

Most of IOM’s funding needs are coordinated either under the country-specific inter-agency Humanitarian Response Plans or Regional Refugee Response Plans. IOM’s humanitarian funding requirements may change throughout 2018 as the settings in which the Organization works change.